Traffic resumes safely on Pearl River Delta bridge

Traffic has resumed on the busy Humen Bridge, a major artery linking the eastern and western parts of the prosperous Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province. Vehicles began flowing at 9 am on Friday after being suspended for 10 days because of unusual vibrations.

A statement released by Guangdong Department of Transportation on Friday said the bridge is safe. A thorough investigation and evaluation was conducted by a group of experts.

Meanwhile good results have been achieved with new measures to help prevent future vibrations, experts said.

An assessment report released earlier this week said the physical condition and load-bearing capacity of the suspension bridge were stable, and key components were not damaged by the vibrations.

The bridge's steel box girder, sling, main cable saddle, splay saddle, bridge bearings, expansion joints and other components are in good condition, the statement said.

The report was published after specialists in testing, inspection, design, scientific research and construction completed a thorough examination of the bridge, the statement said. Vibrations were attributed mainly to the barricades that had been placed on the bridge's surface by maintenance workers during repairs.

The bridge has now returned to its normal state, the statement said.

Guangdong's transportation department closed the bridge immediately after receiving reports of vibrations on May 5, and a team of experts was formed to investigate. Smaller vibrations being reported later that night.

The six-lane, 4.6-kilometer bridge links the city clusters of Shenzhen, Dongguang and Huizhou in the eastern part of the Pearl River Delta to Guangzhou's Nansha district and the cities of Foshan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing on the west.